Justin Herbert earns top 10 rating in Madden 23, still deserves more respect

The end of the Madden 23 ratings reveals has arrived with the quarterbacks being unveiled earlier today.

Justin Herbert improved his initial rating from a year ago quite a bit, going from an 80 to an 88. That number puts him as the game’s seventh-rated quarterback which has obviously become a point of contention when you see some of the other quarterbacks ranked above him.

The six quarterbacks ranked above Herbert, in descending order, are: Tom Brady (97), Aaron Rodgers (96), Patrick Mahomes (95), Josh Allen (92), Joe Burrow (90), and Dak Prescott (89). So when it comes to the Herbert vs. Burrow debate, the game developers are apparently in favor of the guy who just took his team to the Super Bowl.

Despite being the seventh-rated quarterback, Herbert has plenty of stats that break into the top five, and even the top three. Headlining his ratings is a 96 in throw power which ranks third behind only Allen and Mahomes. His deep accuracy rating is fifth at an even 90 while his short (91) and medium (86) accuracy ratings are ninth and 12th among all quarterbacks. His profile is rounded out by a 90 Throw On Run rating and an 87 in Throw Under Pressure which rank eighth and ninth, respectively. Top that all off with an 84 speed rating and you’ve got yourself one of the best overall quarterbacks to crush your opponent’s with.

For those wondering why the heck Burrow is rated that much higher, the game developers all of a sudden believe he’s the second coming of Joe Montana. While objectively talented, I don’t believe Burrow deserves a 97 in both short and medium accuracy. Those numbers would him SECOND and FIRST in the entire game! I just don’t understand in what world he’s done to earn those marks ahead of the litany of better and more-proven passers still in this league. And sure, the game devs balanced him out by giving him an 86 for his deep accuracy, but give me a break. The whole thing is laughable to me but unfortunately that makes me just one of the many others who are screaming into the void about Madden ratings.